Leeds have debts of £78 million and a yearly interest burden of £6 million. Some £60 million of that is through a securitised bond against future sale of season tickets at Elland Road, with the money provided by three institutions: two American pension funds and Britain's M & G, who are owned by the Prudential.

Leeds were hoping that, if the creditors agreed to restructure the debts then, along with the money from the sheikh and Leighton, it would provide £10 million. But creditors refused and, under the rules for such transactions, which require an extraordinary meeting, there was insufficient time before the end of the year to complete that deal.

This led to last week's statement that the club might go into administration. Since then, there have been several conflicting newspaper stories from the Gulf that the sheikh may be prepared to buy the club he has supported since the late 1970s, when he was studying in the city. He has described Elland Road as "the club that I love ever since I was a teenager".

He was reported to have attended home games on a regular basis and to have been spotted on behind-the-scenes tours of the club's facilities, including a secret visit to the training ground.

The oil-rich millionaire is one of the wealthiest men in the United Arab Emirates and is also a keen backer of football back home. He is the chairman of a local side, and cuts an influential figure in the Bahrain Football Association.

One Leeds source said: "All the statements attributed to the sheikh and reported in the British media were made to Arab newspapers and none of them to an English newspaper. The statement that he might buy the club was made fairly recently, the statement saying he was not interested almost three months ago."

On Monday, following feverish weekend newspaper speculation, Leeds announced that they had received no offer to buy the club. This prompted the sheikh to act and yesterday he appointed brokers and lawyers to explore ways he might secure the club.

The sheikh is unlikely to buy the club unless he can secure a deal with the creditors which will reduce the interest repayment and overall debt.

In this, he is very different to Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, who rescued Chelsea and also took over the debt, paying more than £100 million for the club.

But while the sheikh finds a way of buying the club, Leeds are still desperate for cash and this is where Leighton comes in. He could, even while staying as director, lend them money, but this would be considered a 'related party transaction' and, under the Companies Act, would require an extraordinary meeting for approval. Leeds do not have time to hold such a meeting, which is why Leighton is considering resigning as director and then lending the money.

The likely scenario is a loan from Leighton in the near future, followed by the take-over by the sheikh. In addition to avoiding administration, Leeds are desperate to avoid relegation.

They are paying the price for failing to qualify for the Champions' League, in pursuit of which the former chairman Peter Ridsdale incurred heavy debts. Relegation would mean losing £20 million in revenue and, given that the club have few assets to sell, it might be years before they recover.